FistFullaRoux

You and I are included even though we don't get our mail there anymore. Cajuns are Americanized to a certain extent, cher. Just like our forefathers, we are willing to assimilate the good things around us while paying mind to the traditions. Crawfish Fettucine, anyone?

After reading the blog interview, I stand by my statements. As Peyton says at the end of the blog post, Richman just does not get it. Richman uses the unfortunate form of the throwaway joke to get several points across, and readers of the story unfamiliar with NO will not get the joke, and take that information at face value. I'll reiterate my previous sentiment. Richman is a dumbass. And he is a smug, narcissistic child. I don't like his style of writing, and he comes across as a frat boy who only read the Cliff's notes before handing in the article. He may have done "research" on the Cajuns and Creoles, but he fails to get his point across. Any story that requires 2 or 3 followup articles or interviews to fully explain is badly written, and shows that he does not know about the subject. edited for tpos and clarity

Bourbon Street is an outgrowth of the port city mentality. Any port city nearly anywhere in the world, has a section of seedy bars that cater to the purient interests of men who have been on a boat for an extended time and a pocketful of money. Hence, 24 hr drinking, strip clubs, and other festive locations. Mardi Gras has quite a bit to do with that as well. I think Kevin is making my point better than me. There are still a variety of restaurants, if one takes the time to do a bit of research and not spend too much time in the French Quarter. They are not all on the main streets, and not all claim to serve classical French food. Would he still be as "respected" if he thought the only restaurants in NYC were in Manhattan? Another thing to note, this article was written post-Katrina. If anyone anywhere thinks that NO is back up and running full speed, they are naive and mistaken. Some restaurants are open, but if I had to hazard a guess, probably half of the restaurants that were there 15 months ago are no longer, due to lack of tourism and the increased cost of doing business in the city. Not to mention finding decent cooks and waitstaff, repair of facilities, and other legal and insurance snafus. Sure, the tourist heavy/famous spots were the first to re-open, as they are vital to the city's rebuilding by providing jobs. It still took Commander's Palace a year or so to re-open. If they couldn't pull it together quickly, the smaller businesses are in far deeper water, pardon the pun. I think it has stirred up so many emotional responses since any bad review of anything in the city is seen as a negative in the recovery. Ostensibly, people were influenced (wrongly or not) by this article. How many were considering a trip down for the food and festivities, are now making other plans? The food, according to Richman's article, is not so good, or at least not what he expected. What else is there if you are not into the Bourbon Street scene, when your only knowlege of the city is from movies and CNN? It's not so much that he didn't like the food. He's got an opinion and a byline. He can do that. But people who love the city see it as an insult, especially when the author did not take the time to research his subject. He needs to sit down with John Folse and Paul Prudhomme and take notes. I think it would have been a different article, even if he didn't care for the food. edited for typos

And just to add, it couldn't possibly be humane. If you were to miss, and little bunny foo foo limps away from the encounter with you, it would hurt like hell afterwards (even more than being shot in general). Think of having a few peppercorns imbedded in your skin. Put it this way. my grandfather used to run the stray dogs off with a .410 loaded with rock salt. It's non-lethal at anything but point-blank range. That's why I'm thinking it wouldn't be worth a dern. If I read on the site correctly, the seasoning pellets melt in the oven. By the time the surrounding tissue gets to melting temp, wouldn't it be too late to season anyway?

Absolutely, it will store. I've had luck with everything from Ziploc bags to jars. Use a jar if it will be used quite quickly (within a couple of days) or bag it to freeze it. You can freeze it by the cup so you have premeasured available whenever, but I usually don't have a hard time breaking off a chunk the size that I need. There are pre-made jarred rouxs (Cajun dark rouxs, usually) available.

But the pellets would have to dissolve if they were to do anything. If they are soft enough to dissove in body fluids or during cooking, I'm not sure they could even be lethal.

I don't see how that can be real, or at least functional. Most hunters I know aren't willing to compromise something as individual as seasoning. If you are going to spend that much time, money, and effort to hunt something, then why use something may under or overseason, depending on the number of pellets that hit. I can also imagine that this would affect range of the shot. Besides, you food would taste like gunpowder.

I have read the piece in question since I posted the opening comment here. My opinion, if anything, is now more against Richman. Nothing in the article gives any indication that he knows anything more of Cajun and Creole food and history than the average eggplant. He knows what has been shown in pop culture, maybe, but has no grasp of how or why things are done the way they are. Please also note the two items quoted above. What about that first quoted line from the article does not sound like a insult? Yes, it also inferred that the tourists who ate the food there were drunk, but this also implies that the people making and selling this food were either drunk as well, or trying to feed the visitors something they would not eat themselves. I assure you that is not true. You can't have it both ways. You cannot be a critic and not expect criticism. Especially when you are dead wrong on multiple levels. edited for typos and random tag issues.

Fruit Stripe gum is still around. I found Adams gum recently too. The cherry flavor brought back so many memories... The flavor lasts all of 30 seconds, but it was such a blast from the past.

Take it for what it is. Most of the time, his "recipes" are more about techniques. The food that he makes on the show is more of an example of the technical part of the recipe. Some of the recipes, however are pretty good (the Firecrackers from the pickle show for example), but some are just over the top or slightly misguided. Like spending all of the time and effort in making pate a choux to fill it with instant pudding. Not everyone you've ever looked up to is perfect. Sorry. Even those who end up with St. in front of their name.

Doritos Taco flavor. They were available until the early 90's. I was working in a convenience store in 1992-1993 and had the Frito Lay salesman track down a few bags for me. Took him a couple of weeks to get some, and they completely disappeared after that. They were good, and I was holding out hope for it being reintroduced as one of the newer flavors with a different name, but that recipe is not around in any form anymore.

It's simple. Roux and cornstarch are both cooked in liquid. Light roux is probably hard to discern from cornstarch. Dark roux is caramelized. Cornstarch is not. Caramelization adds a burnt/toasted/smoky/nutty flavor. The man clearly has no clue. He is does not understand that most dishes in New Orleans are French inspired or have roots in France, they are not classical French dishes. There's a major difference there. New Orleans also has African, Italian, and Spanish - among many others - influences. It's not Paris, dumbass, it's a city that's just as famous for Lucky Dogs as it is for Commander's Palace.

Don't forget graham crackers. Not too sweet and easy to eat. They can be dipped in chocolate as well.

Brett Anderson on Richman's GQ New Orleans piece Well, now. That's original. Though Anderson does admit (and I agree to a small degree) that New Orleans dining is all about the tourist, I think Richman crossed the line. Full disclosure: I have not read the GQ article in question. I haven't found it on the web, so I'll have to go buy the magazine. These statements are based only on Anderson's critique. So, your thoughts?

The milk does work temporarily. Problem is, it just delays the burn, if you know what I mean. The oils that cause the burn are just sent farther down the system and do the damage elsewhere.

Add beans. if you already have them in there, add more. Or, strain off some of the liquid (save it if you want). Then add more of the liquid ingredients, unseasoned, to the pot and let it simmer for a bit. See if that balances it out. You may have to reseason for salt and other flavorings. This saves the batch and gives you a similar amount that you would have otherwise, so you don't end up with 20 gallons of the stuff.

As far as "Deep South" I think you can concentrate on Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennesee. Remembering that south Louisiana, while part of the "Deep South" does not equal southern food. My guess is you are looking for BBQ, fried chicken, greens, and sweet potato pie instead of jambalaya. Although good examples of all of those dishes can be found in south Louisiana.

OK, I did better on the advanced one. 97% Dixie. That's more like it. Fascinating stuff, this. Back to the list of states, after considering it I think it's impossible to break it down by state lines. New Orleans has as much in common with Miami as Atlanta has with Dallas. There's no way to say, in the terms of food or culture, that any state, with the exception of the "Deep South" states that stand without controversy, is or is not "southern". Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee are without a doubt included. How far out you want to stretch those borders depends on what you are looking for. Southern accents span a lot of ground, but the culinary traditions and habits vary even within states.

Interesting find, but... somethings amiss with that first one. I mean, my God, I've never been north of Hot Springs. And I'm expanding that a little farther into the frozen north next week when I go to Nashville. I only scored a 58% southern rating. You certainly can't go by that thing.

What do you mean areas that "think the SEC is the toughest football conference in the country"? We don't think it, we know it!!!! ← I do know it. Geaux LSU!!! (and a little "roll tide." for the wife's sake) I tend to spend a lot of time in Tuscaloosa, what can I say.

Part of the controversy (if I can call it that) of including some of these areas is that what many people think of as a "Southern Tradition" are really the same survival tools that other parts of the country used. Smoking, canning, and salting are done across the country, the difference being the ingredients used. Everyone braises big tough hunks of meat, everyone stretches the garden as far as it can possibly go, and everyone expects good behavior at the dinner (or supper) table. This can actually be expanded to a worldwide issue. Some things, like food, are universal. The traditions are similar wherever you go. What they do with fish in one part of the world is the same thing they do to pork in others. I really do think (having lived in Dallas and Austin) that Texas, at least parts of it, should be included. The climate of east Texas is far different than west Texas. The only thing universal in Texas is a Mexican influence and the two letters before the zip code in thier address. Edited to add: Alternatively, you can simply take the areas that think that the SEC is the toughest football conference in the country. Now, if you want to define the "Deep South", then you only include states which had plantations and grits. You must have both, and no more than 50% of your border can be coastline. That's Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Kentucky, yes, if you are counting the Carolinas. Which you should. Arkansas should absolutely be in the list. Texas and Oklahoma are sticking points. True, there is more of a western/midwestern influence there, but the cowboy cooking of the west and the fact that now just about anything can be found anywhere eliminate the argument. That does not mean that I think Iowa or Oregon should be part, but the base is still there. "Southern food" is inclusive of everything from Low Country, Cajun, burgoo, chicken fried steak, tomatoes as big as your head, and chili con carne. The traditions of the place matter more than geography, I think. My list certainly includes South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Note the lay of some of these lands, though. You have everything from warm weather sea coasts that never freeze to the Appalachian Mountains where is gets and stays cold as a bugger all winter. Native products vary wildly. Then why is chicken fried steak just as at home in Atlanta as it is in Austin? You can't really draw a dividing line at the Texas border as the hill country and SE Texas (Houston, Port Arthur, Orange and as far south as Galveston) have considerable Cajun influence, as well as it's own BBQ traditions. Texas is so damn big that it really has to be split up. It has it's own regions as well.

I was 18 months old when Camille hit, I grew up hearing about Audrey (That was the big storm before Rita in my neck of the woods) and moved to Mobile 2 days before Georges. I stayed in a shelter for that one and heard the horror stories from the people who went through Frederic. Vermilion Parish born and raised, so I do know a thing or two about the subject. Here in Birmingham, it's more tornadoes and the occasional ice storm. Like the "ice storm of '93" which I wasn't here for, but my wife was. Her father was a delivery man for Lance snacks, so they had food, but no power and the house was all electric. They had a wood fireplace (since outfitted for gas), and after they burned all of the wood, old books, cardboard boxes, and just about any other flammable item, they resorted to burning the stale items from his truck. They learned that if you are going to burn a bag of potato chips, open the bag first. They pop when you put 'em in a fire. Long story short, we have to prepare for cold and hot weather things around here. We got hurricane force winds near here for Katrina and Ivan. Power was out at our apartment for 12-24 hours for those. Hurricanes, tornadoes, snow, and ice. Nice place to live, though.

Check out the camping department at your local sporting goods store or discount mecca (Like Wal-mart). Camping has gotten a lot more civilized lately, and many essential items as well as creature comforts are available that are designed to work "off the grid" One other non-food thing. Consider an inflatable mattress if you are in a warmer climate. The key to these is the air inside. It does not warm up with your body temperature when you lay on it. It's cooler to sleep on than sleeping on a regular mattress when it's hot. You can even put it on top of your regular bed if you feel like it. You can get manual or car inflators for them.

Sterno is fine inside if used sparingly. I'm not sure about the byproducts of it's burning, but it is used indoors on buffets a lot. More confined spaces may become an issue, but I'm not sure. I do know that it is alcohol based, not that you can drink it. Edited to add: Sterno is more for keeping food at temperature. I don't think it could even boil water more than a cup at a time. Plus you would use almost a whole small can to do that. It's not for cooking or even warming. At many hardware/department stores, you can still find the old fashioned percolators that work right on the stove. If coffee is important to you, that may be worth having on hand.